Whale sharks - honeymoon Feb 2009 - where can we go???
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I recommend Donsol in Phillipinines - seeing whale sharks is almost guaranteed there. I dont know if there si another place in the world where is more than 90% probability to see them. There is a lot of plankton, so many whale sharks (called butandings) are coming there. Bad side of this plankton is a little bit bad visibility. I think whale shark season is from january to may. but you can snorkel there, not dive. We were there in the beginning of May and go to a boat tour, and during 3 hours we have about 10-15 encounters. We swam 2-3 meters from them (and I cought shark´s fin 
). If i remember correctly we live in Vitton beach resort - its right beside the whale shark center, so dont need to travel. The accommodation is good, and you can also take you from the airport, which is 1 hour drive - in Legaspi. We just made a call from Manila airport and arranged the transportation. There is very good and cheap flight connection from Manila to Legaspi with Cebu pacific - i think we paid about 60 USD per 1 person for a round-trip way ! We bought the air tickets via internet some weeks ago.
). If i remember correctly we live in Vitton beach resort - its right beside the whale shark center, so dont need to travel. The accommodation is good, and you can also take you from the airport, which is 1 hour drive - in Legaspi. We just made a call from Manila airport and arranged the transportation. There is very good and cheap flight connection from Manila to Legaspi with Cebu pacific - i think we paid about 60 USD per 1 person for a round-trip way ! We bought the air tickets via internet some weeks ago.
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The rules for Mexico snorkeling with the Dominoes prohibit flash photography, and I had fun with the videos anyway now that myspace has bumped their hosting capacity for a vid from 100 mb to 250. I was shooting in ASF, not AVI, so didn't have to compress the longer vid much, the other one none. The vid cap pics from those clips came out okay I guess. Anyway, that gives you an idea what a fumbling amateur can do. Have you started training yet? I suggested endurance running, but 400 meter sprints really might be better.DandyDon: Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing those
Or yours may stop and look at you? Ours weren't curious. 
Kat
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My boyfriend & I just swam (snorkeled) with the whale sharks Aug 5th. We booked the trip through a dive shop on Isla Mujeres, MX. But I think the whale sharks are only there from June to mid Sept.
It was an amazing experience. Typical for me, I showed up unprepaired. Used their crappy mask, horrendous snorkel and flimsy fins. While my quality gear was back at the dive shop. And of course I didn't bring my camera. But in spite of all of my poor planning...it was fantastic! There were about 12 whale sharks. You are not supposed to touch them, but we were swimming so close that I got touched by them twice. You do need to be a good swimmer to keep up with them but it was not difficult at all. We had a small group of 8 on our boat, all fun people in their 20's & maybe 30's
We spent a week on Isla Mujeres, which is so easy to get to. Fly into Cancun, take a taxi up to Puerto Juarez and catch the 15 minute ferry over to Isla. I loved the little island. It can be very crowded with day trippers from Cancun, especially on Sat. & Sun. But as the sun sets, they leave. And then it is perfect.
I have not done my trip report yet, but when I post it I'll talk about the diving there too.
It was an amazing experience. Typical for me, I showed up unprepaired. Used their crappy mask, horrendous snorkel and flimsy fins. While my quality gear was back at the dive shop. And of course I didn't bring my camera. But in spite of all of my poor planning...it was fantastic! There were about 12 whale sharks. You are not supposed to touch them, but we were swimming so close that I got touched by them twice. You do need to be a good swimmer to keep up with them but it was not difficult at all. We had a small group of 8 on our boat, all fun people in their 20's & maybe 30's
We spent a week on Isla Mujeres, which is so easy to get to. Fly into Cancun, take a taxi up to Puerto Juarez and catch the 15 minute ferry over to Isla. I loved the little island. It can be very crowded with day trippers from Cancun, especially on Sat. & Sun. But as the sun sets, they leave. And then it is perfect.
I have not done my trip report yet, but when I post it I'll talk about the diving there too.
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Never been there - I get plenty of whale sharks here and in bluer water
Maybe one day I'll finally make it.Head to the Philippines area here on the board and pop your question in there. That region is very active here on ScubaBoard and they'll be more than happy to help you out!
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[c]:lol:[/c]
Oops! Racing the Dominoes was challenging enough in my gear. I wish I had tried some still shots. You're not supposed to use flashes but an ISO adjustment may have worked. I don't leave the house without a camera or board a boat without two or three and did have fun sharing my vids with friends.
ben@scorpiodivers.com
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its the maldives for jan-feb, get to kani too for the manta dive, you ll see over 20 mantas a dive here. whale sharks are not guarenteed but theres a good chance!
hey, maldives, indian ocean, honeymoon..... thats where you have to go!
hey, maldives, indian ocean, honeymoon..... thats where you have to go!
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